Candle Building

Now squeaky clean outside, this beautiful building at 11 Spring Street was a mecca for the world’s most famous street artists until 2006. It was so locally – and internationally – renowned that Lou Reed wrote a poem about it and recited that poem on an album by the Danish band “Kashmir.”

Before 2006, the building was a veritable museum for street art. Since the façade was never clean, the paintings would build up in layers – like an Ancient Rome of graffiti.

The Candle Building got its name in homage to its longtime lone resident, John Simpson. Simpson, a theatrical set designer, bought the building in the 1970s and lived alone in the 5-story structure. He tended to curtains and a lighted candle display that he maintained in the upper story windows for years.

Simpson sold the building in 2003. In 2006 it was slated to be converted to Condos, but not before one last “Art Fest!” Before the scheduled renovations, the developers invited street artists like Shepard Fairey and D*Face inside to cover the walls with their art. The public was then invited in for a weekend to see that work. After the exhibition, those walls were covered in pipes, wires, and drywall, but the art remains underneath!